Hi,
We want to install a floor of old, used brick in our mudroom. The existing floor is tongue-and-groove fir, under that is plywood, and then the joists in the basement ceiling. We want the brick floor to be level with the floor next to it, going into the next room. If we just took up the fir and put the brick down on the plywood the brick would be higher than the floor in the next room by about an inch. So, in order to make the two floors level, there are, as far as I can tell, two options: cut parts of the joists away and then re-enforce with sistered joists, put plywood back, and lay the brick. Or, cut the bricks about an inch, width-wise, and lay them down. A carpenter friend thinks that cutting bricks is the way to go, as it will be easier than cutting into the floor joists. I think I prefer to cut the bricks, but I understand that neither solution is ideal, and I am hoping that others can weigh in.
Questions I have include: 1. The floor will have mortar between the bricks, but the mason mentioned using a product under the bricks other than mortar–an adhesive of some type that is thinner than mortar, which would save some room as well. Any thoughts on this idea? 2. Will bricks that are half as thick as they were originally made, be too weak for a floor that is the main entryway (lots of foot traffic) of the house? Will they crack? 3.Will the half-thick bricks absorb water less or differently? 4. Should I be concerned about the load? The mason is not in favor of cutting the bricks because he thinks it would take too much time and I think he mentioned also the cost of the blades. It occurred to me that we could cut the bricks ourselves with a rented mason’s saw, thereby eliminating the time/cost factor. 5. Is cutting bricks a job a non-mason could handle? (We will need approximately 225 bricks for this job; the room is about 9 feet long by 5 feet wide.) As I said, I want to use old, used brick; 6. is there any way to tell if the brick will hold up to foot traffic and not crack? It seems to me I have read that there are softer and harder bricks. 7. Will any used brick work for a floor? Or, do I need to get bricks that are meant to be used as flooring?
My thanks for any and all responses. If you have thoughts on what I should do in terms of this floor, I would really appreciate it.
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Replies
I'd cut the bricks before I even though about cutting the joists. After all, what;s gonna happen in fifteen years when you decide that you want marble instead of brick?
But before you start the (gargantuan) task of cutting all those brick, go to a really good ceramic showroom. There are floor tiles available that look like brick -- and there are at least a few varieties. It's a good bet that one of them will fit your decorator scheme.
And whether you use cut brick or tile, be sure to use a membrane below them, and thinset mortar to set them in. The most recent issue of Fine Home Building has a great article.
Unless you're the lead dog, the view just never changes.
Go get 1.5" thick paving bricks, and DISTRESS them to look old. Cuz old is what you will be when you get done sawing and wasting a lot of questionable bricks.
Solid brick is what you need, not cored bricks. UNLESS you are planing on laying them with the narrow faces up. Even then, they will break unless bedded in mortar.
Load? What size joists are they? Spanning?
Make it easy on yourself, get pre-made , thin, pavers. Chip them up, knock off the corners, get em good and dirty..easier by far.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
You think that's funny? Watch THIS!...I can only do it once tho'
> Go get 1.5" thick paving bricks,....
That's what my BIL did in his front entry. It works fine. Don't even dream of chopping away the joists and then loading them with thick bricks.
-- J.S.
I just happened to check on my neighbors dog , the neighbor had a cycle wreck, and I saw one of those pavers..I rememberd reading the original post and the rest, is history. (G) Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
You think that's funny? Watch THIS!...I can only do it once tho'
you have some bad info and assumptions.
The materials you want are called pavers, brick made for this purpose. I am suprised that the mason has not mentioned them. Cutting the brick would be a supreme waste of time.
but another problem you have on the structural llaoding question that your carp friend missed is that you will need a doubled ply of subfloor for that to be stiff enough to not flex under the brick products. If the subfloor flexes, the bond will break, and you will have loose and cracking bricks. If you absolutely had to go brick, you would need to rip the joists lower, then sister a double joist to each one, pan between the joist spacing, then secure a new subfloor, and lay the mortar bed bricks. i still doubt that would be succesfull.
so, what you want to do is to rem,ove flooring, then apply a second ply over the original with construction adhesive and screws. ort use cement board the same way. Seal that, then use Thinset for applying the pavers, and grout between
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I have been to two local brick yards looking for thin pavers, and they have quite a selection. One place is an Acme Brick showroom. Unfortunately most of the pavers are not thin versions of the traditional clay fired bricks, but are actually poured-into-a-mold cement thingies with a finish applied to the surface to make them look like brick. It might work for some people, but to me I can see the difference and it looks like a Ryobi masquerading as a Milwaukee.
real pavers are not cement
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we have what we call " Mobile brick' its a solid red brick from the old part of town of Mobile. People will bid on old houses just to salavage the brick. Then we cut the brick about a inch thick on a water saw and that what they make brick floor with.
That was my point. They are trying to pass off a different product as a real brick paver.
I C
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Z-Brick.com
1/2" thick real clay.